Contents

Stephen Hillenburg conceived the characters for SpongeBob SquarePants in 1984, while he was teaching and studying marine biology at what is now the Orange County Ocean Institute.[1] During this period, Hillenburg became fascinated with animation, and wrote a comic book titled The Intertidal Zone starring various anthropomorphic forms of sea lives, many of which would evolve into SpongeBob SquarePants characters,[2] including "Bob the Sponge", who was the co-host of the comic and resembled an actual sea sponge as opposed to SpongeBob.[3] In 1987, Hillenburg left the institute to pursue his dream of becoming an animator.[2][3]

Patrick Star (voiced by Bill Fagerbakke) is a starfish who lives under a rock, and whose most prominent character trait is his extremely low intelligence. He is best friends with SpongeBob and often encourages activities that get the two into trouble, especially when Squidward Tentacles is involved. While typically unemployed throughout the course of the series, Patrick holds various short-term jobs as the storyline of each episode requires. He is generally good-natured and is "the tough one" of the two who is often called to fight SpongeBob's battles for him (although he usually gets distracted). Patrick is shown to have a mean temper in certain episodes. He first appears in "Help Wanted".

Squidward Tentacles (voiced by Rodger Bumpass) is an octopus with a large nose. He is SpongeBob and Patrick's ill-tempered neighbor with a dry, sarcastic sense of humor. He has no artistic or musical ability but believes himself to be extremely talented. He plays the clarinet and loves to paint self-portraits in different artistic styles, which he hangs up around the walls of his moai-shaped house. He loathes SpongeBob and Patrick (although they are oblivious to his animosity, and consider him a close friend) as well as his current occupation at the Krusty Krab. He regularly acts condescendingly toward customers and is often seen sleeping on the job.

Sandy Cheeks (voiced by Carolyn Lawrence) is a squirrel from Texas. She has a number of athletic interests, such as "sand-boarding" and karate, and is a rodeo champion. She also works as a scientist (Mainly after the movie), explorer, and inventor. Being from the surface, she lives in a tree inside a glass dome so she can breathe. To survive underwater, she wears a diving suit and helmet to travel outside of her treedome. Whenever any aquatic creatures enter her air-filled dome, they must wear helmets filled with water to breathe.

Mr. Krabs (voiced by Clancy Brown) is a red crab who owns and operates the Krusty Krab restaurant where SpongeBob works.[5] He is self-content, intelligent, and obsessed with the value and essence of money. He lives in an anchor with his daughter Pearl, who is a whale. The Krusty Krab was originally a retirement home called "The Rusty Krab", which he bought after returning from fighting in a nondescript war; when it went bankrupt, he turned it into a restaurant and renamed it "The Krusty Krab". He takes pride in making money, his invention of the Krabby Patty, and his superiority over his rival Plankton's restaurant, The Chum Bucket.

Gary (voiced by Tom Kenny) is SpongeBob's pet sea snail. Within the series, snails are analogous to kitty cats and are usually kept as pets throughout the cartoon series. Gary almost always vocalizes like a kitty cat.[6] Despite this, other characters can understand and communicate with him. Depicted as a level-headed character, Gary sometimes serves as a voice of reason for SpongeBob, and solves problems that his owner cannot.

Plankton (voiced by Mr. Lawrence) is a plankton who owns the Chum Bucket, the rival restaurant to the Krusty Krab. As the self-proclaimed archenemy to Mr. Krabs, he constantly tries to steal Krabs' secret recipe for Krabby Patties (except in The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water), but is always unsuccessful (except, temporarily, in The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie). Sometimes, not only does he wish to run Mr. Krabs out of business, but he also wishes to rule the world. His wife is Karen, a computer of his creation. Though he is considered the main antagonist of the series, he has been portrayed as a protagonist or anti-hero on several occasions. He first appears in the episode "Plankton!".

Karen (voiced by Jill Talley) is Plankton's nagging computer W.I.F.E. (as in an acronym for "Wired Integrated Female Electroencephalograph") and voice of reason. She apparently has a mind of her own to the point of making fun of Plankton. Karen usually helps Plankton in his schemes to steal the Krabby Patty secret formula, although on occasions Plankton rejects her ideas and then takes them as if they were his own. She has a sarcastic attitude towards Plankton, and it is revealed in The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie that she never agreed to marry Plankton.

Mrs. Puff (voiced by Mary Jo Catlett)[7] is a pufferfish with blonde hair, who is the owner and teacher of a boating school (analogous to driving school, as the "boats" are underwater equivalents to cars). Her first appearance within the episode "Boating School", which first aired on August 7, 1999.[8] She dreads instructing SpongeBob due to his inability to drive without crashing. As a running gag, she frequently gets in trouble with the police due to SpongeBob's inability to drive without causing public damage. She can also change her voice to need.

Pearl Krabs (voiced by Lori Alan) is Mr. Krabs' teenage sperm whale daughter. The series has yet to explain their disparity in species, although in the book SpongeBob's Trivia Book, Mr. Krabs explains that Pearl takes after her mother, suggesting that her mother is a whale. Her mother is never seen or mentioned in the series. Pearl is frequently embarrassed by her father's cheap attitude and often forces him to try and change his habits.

Mermaid Man (voiced by Ernest Borgnine) and his sidekick Barnacle Boy (voiced by Tim Conway)[9] are two elderly and partially senile superheroes who live in a retirement home and are stars of SpongeBob and Patrick's favorite television show. Mermaid Man is known for completely forgetting things, yelling a prolonged "EVIL!" whenever he hears the word, while Barnacle Boy seems to be the smarter, more sensible (but also much more irritable) of the two. The 3rd-season episode "Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy V" reveals that Barnacle Boy's given name is Kyle, but it is changed to Tim in the 8th-season episode "Mermaid Man Begins", where it is also revealed that Mermaid Man's given name is Ernie. Since Borgnine's death (besides their appearance in "Patrick-Man!"), neither Mermaid Man nor Barnacle Boy has appeared, and are rumored to have been discontinued from the show. Aquaman artist Ramona Fradon drew the Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy comic book adventures.[10]

Larry the Lobster (voiced by Mr. Lawrence) is a lobster lifeguard of the Goo Lagoon. Larry is a bodybuilder and workout fanatic, and has occasionally been seen hanging out with SpongeBob and Patrick.

The Flying Dutchman (voiced by Brian Doyle-Murray) is an irritable pirate ghost named after a ghost ship, The Flying Dutchman. His first appearance is in the Halloween-themed episode "Scaredy Pants", though he is first mentioned in "Squidward the Unfriendly Ghost", in which SpongeBob and Patrick discover that he haunts the seven seas because his unburied corpse was used as a window display. He lives underwater in a giant pirate ship and, as a Satan-like or Satanist character, collects souls. He also resides in a cavern containing the Davy Jones' Locker, a literal locker stuffed with countless smelly socks, which within the series seems to be analogous to Hell. In the series, "Who the Davy" (analogous to "Who the hell") is once used as a curse word. In one episode the musician Davy Jones made a cameo appearance throwing socks from the locker at The Flying Dutchman.

Officer Nancy (Sirena Irwin) and Officer John (Dee Bradley Baker/Thomas F. Wilson/Mr. Lawrence) are partners and the two most commonly seen police in Bikini Bottom, appearing most prominently in Season 3. Nancy is a purple female police fish with blonde hair and John is a male police fish, whose colour varies. Although John still regularly appears on the show, Nancy has been mostly retired from the series.

Elaine (voiced by Mr. Lawrence/Tom Kenny) is a live-action announcer and news anchor fish, resembling a cut-out of a bass fish. Elaine appears in numerous episodes, including the intro to the show. His name is revealed to be Elaine in "The Great Patty Caper", though he has been called Johnny in Battle for Bikini Bottom, although this is only in the video game series, making his canonical name Elaine.

Perch Perkins (Mr. Lawrence/Dee Bradley Baker) is a Yellow perch and field news reporter. He is usually seen in the series reporting about events that occur. Perch is a purple fish that wears a dark purple coat with a purplish-black wig and headphones. In some episodes and Nicktoons MLB, Perch is colored light orange with a red coat. His name was first revealed in "The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie" as he announced the arrival of the Krusty Krab 2.

Harold SquarePants (Tom Kenny) and Margaret SquarePants (Sirena Irwin) are SpongeBob's parents, who more resemble sea sponges rather than SpongeBob's shape as a kitchen sponge. Harold is brown with glasses and a moustache, while Margaret is dark orange. They seem to live outside of Bikini Bottom, since SpongeBob says "Goodbye Bikini Bottom!" when he almost moves back to his parents' home in "Home Sweet Pineapple".

Squilliam Fancyson (Dee Bradley Baker) is Squidward Tentacles's arrogant and wealthy arch-rival who has been able to succeed in everything Squidward has only dreamed of doing. He and Squidward quarrel in the series on many occasions and Squidward normally does not win over his rival. Though sometimes mistaken as a relative of Squidward due to their similarities, they were band classmates in high school and are not related. Squilliam owns a ridiculously large, almost castle-like four-stories mansion including an elevator with a built-in bathtub, toilets with gold toilet paper, and an expansive garden on the rooftop.

Mrs. Betsy Krabs (Paul Tibbitt first two appearances/Sirena Irwin subsequent appearances) is Mr. Krabs' overbearing mother who still treats him slightly like a kid and first appeared in "Sailor Mouth". Plankton has a small crush on her in "Enemy in Law".

Man Ray (John Rhys-Davies/Bob Joles) and the Dirty Bubble (Charles Nelson Reilly/Tom Kenny) are villains against Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy. Man Ray has a man's body with a helmet shaped to look like a stingray's head, which hides the fact that he does not have a head, while the Dirty Bubble is a giant dirty bubble with a villainous face. Man Ray retires as supervillain in the episode he is introduced in, "Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy III", and seems to have taken a benevolent path as seen in "Shuffleboarding", though he sometimes takes the job again, such as in "Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy V". Charles Nelson Reilly originally voiced the Dirty Bubble, but Tom Kenny has portrayed the character since Reilly's death in 2007.

Grandma SquarePants (Marion Ross) is SpongeBob's paternal grandmother. She has six children with her late husband, whose wisdom SpongeBob sometimes cites when he plans something. She is a stereotypical grand mom, always spoiling SpongeBob whenever he visits her house with cookies, milk, sweater, and bedtime stories, even though SpongeBob, as he puts it, is already an adult.

Old Man Jenkins (Tom Kenny/Doug Lawrence/Dee Bradley Baker) is an elderly fish who used to live in the Rusty Krab rest home before it became the Krusty Krab restaurant. He currently resides at Shady Shoals Retirement Home along with Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy. His appearance changes in almost every episode he appears. One of his critical appearances is in "The Sponge Who Could Fly" wherein he plays a farmer, a sailor, and finally, a human cannonball. He is friends with Mama Krabs, as revealed in "Sailor Mouth" and "Friend or Foe?" He believe SpongeBob is a Bran Flakesbox.

King Neptune (John O'Hurley/Kevin Michael Richardson/Jeffrey Tambor/Billy West) is a nigh-omnipotent, trident-wielding mermangod who rules the sea, based on the mythological deity of the same name. In the series, Neptune lives in a palace in Atlantis with his wife, Amphitrite, and son, Triton. He is usually portrayed as arrogant and selfish, showing little sympathy for the sea's fish populace. For example, he challenges SpongeBob to a cooking duel designed to be impossible for SpongeBob to win in "Neptune's Spatula", and he corrupts his son Triton, who does care about the fish populace at first, to become like him in "Clash of Triton". Neptune has a mostly blue-green color scheme with a long brown beard and hair. A different King Neptune is featured in The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie. In the film, he resides near Bikini Bottom with his daughter, Mindy, and he resembles a green-skinned, Western European king with stereotypical king's robes, neatly-trimmed hair, a domed crown to cover his bald spot, and powers limited to what can be exercised through his trident.

Jellyfish are recurring characters. They reside in Jellyfish Fields, a meadow in Bikini Bottom, and have a strong affinity for music. The creatures, which behave like sentient insects in the SpongeBob SquarePants universe, squirt jelly, buzz and swarm like bees, and can sting their enemies with electric-like shocks that leave painful welts.

The French Narrator (Tom Kenny) is the one who narrates in certain episodes, usually at the beginning and the end, and also the time cards. He has a thick French accent. He has only been seen on screen once, in the episode "No Free Rides", in which SpongeBob hits a scuba diver with a camera, who is heavily implied to be the narrator. In "Can You Spare a Dime?", the narrator is briefly replaced by an English-accented narrator who reads a transition card with this caption: "So much later that the old narrator got tired of waiting and they had to hire a new one".

Angry Jack (voiced by Dee Snider) is the owner of a pet emporium in "Shell Shocked". He initially puts up his angry demeanor as a marketing stint, but when SpongeBob accidentally destroys his emporium, he becomes infuriated.

The Atomic Flounder is a villain, known for blasting radioactive beams from his mouth.

Blackjack SquarePants (voiced by John DiMaggio) is SpongeBob's cousin who has bullied him since childhood. In his lone appearance, Blackjack was imprisoned for littering but has since been released.

Bubble Bass (voiced by Dee Bradley Baker) is an obese green bass who first appeared in the episode "Pickles". He challenges SpongeBob's ability to cook when the latter apparently forgets to place pickles on his Krabby Patty (he actually hides them under his tongue), making SpongeBob briefly doubt himself. He makes brief appearances in the episodes "F.U.N.", "Plankton's Good Eye", "Larry's Gym", and has a supporting role in "Bulletin Board".

Bubble Buddy (Mr. Lawrence) is a humanoid bubble created by SpongeBob in "Bubble Buddy". His apparent inanimateness annoys other people of Bikini Bottom, but he is later revealed to be a sentient being before moving out of the town by a taxi-shaped bubble.

Burger-Beard the Pirate (portrayed by Antonio Banderas) is a pirate who, upon discovering a book capable of rewriting reality, steals the Krabby Patty formula to open up a fast food drive-in while also changing Bikini Bottom into a wasteland. He appeared as the main antagonist of The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water.

Charlie is a fish often as a background character in the show. His name was revealed in while he was in a TV commercial with Mr. Magic endorsing a product called "Mr. Magic's Magical Magic Kit".

Craig Mammalton (voiced by Dee Bradley Baker) is a seal who is popular among the Goo Lagoon-goers for his tanned skin and golden caramel brown bones. In "Sun Bleached", he holds parties during the night that only permits those with tanned skin to enter, the highest level of which is bleached skin. He is a parody of George Hamilton.

The Cyclops (voiced by Neil Ross and portrayed by Aaron Hendry) is a marine diver who is always seen wearing a diving suit and helmet, appearing only in The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie. He is actually a normal adult man; however, because humans tower virtually all sea life, Mindy describes him as "the worst of all hazards". He is the owner of "Shell City", which is really the name of a seaside gift and souvenir shop.

Dennis (voiced by Alec Baldwin) is a hitman hired by Plankton to assassinate SpongeBob and Patrick before they are able to retrieve King Neptune's Crown from Shell City. Before he manages to do that, however, he is first stomped by the Cyclops, then hit by a pier. He only appeared in The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie.

DoodleBob (voiced by Paul Tibbitt) is a hand-drawing created by SpongeBob in his image using a human pencil, which is seemingly able to animate anything it draws. He is known to act and speak like a stoner often known to say "Me Hoy Minoy" and other words like "Noy". He appears in "Frankendoodle", serving as the antagonist until SpongeBob manages to trap him inside a book. He also featured as the main villain to defeat in the Drawn to Life: SpongeBob SquarePants Edition video game.

Flats the Flounder (voiced by Thomas F. Wilson) is a green flounder who is a classmate of SpongeBob in the Boating School as revealed in "The Bully". He wants to kick SpongeBob's "butt" for no apparent reason, though SpongeBob takes it as if he wants to murder him.

Frankie Billy is an olive green fish and another character model for the series. His first name was revealed in "Sun Bleached" and his last name was revealed in "Professor Squidward" when Squidward asks how he likes putting his name on the board. He first appears in the Season 2 episode, "Life of Crime", and eventually a couple Season 3 episodes and appears more and more in Season 4-present episodes.

Fred[11] (voiced by Mr. Lawrence/Dee Bradley Baker/Thomas F. Wilson), better known as the character who shouts "My leg!" when injured, is a brown fish who was one of the first of the generic character models to appear in the series. He first appears in "Reef Blower", but his famous line, a running gag in the series, is not heard until "Boating School".

Gene Scallop (voiced by Gene Shalit) is a food critic who critiques the Krusty Krab in "The Krusty Sponge". He gives a bad review on everything except for SpongeBob, whose popularity is exploited by Mr. Krabs by remaking the Krusty Krab to have a SpongeBob theme. He is modeled after his voice actor, a real-life book and film critic.

Gordon (voiced by Ian McShane) is the leader of a band of Vikings who kidnaps SpongeBob and Squidward in "Dear Vikings". Apparently, except for himself, all of his crewmen are named "Olaf".

Grandpa Redbeard (voiced by Dennis Quaid) is Mr. Krabs' pirate paternal grandfather. In "Grandpappy the Pirate", he visits his grandson, thinking that the latter is also a pirate instead of the owner of a restaurant, and Mr. Krabs as such tries hard to disguise the Krusty Krab as a pirate ship during his visit.

Granny (voiced by Amy Poehler) is an elderly fish who appeared in "Have You Seen This Snail?" She has taken in many snails so she could eat them and take their shells, first by force-feeding them. She "adopts" Gary as her new victim, but the latter manages to escape.

The Hash Slinging Slasher is a fictional fry cook created by Squidward to scare SpongeBob in "Graveyard Shift". According to him, the Slasher was SpongeBob's predecessor in Krusty Krab who replaced his hand with a spatula after it burned, was hit by a bus, and was fired on his funeral. Three signs are said to herald his coming: lights flickering on and off; unanswered phone ringing; and the bus that hit him arriving to deliver him.

Herb and Margie Star are Patrick's parents. Their identities are temporarily taken by another starfish couple, Marty and Janet (voiced by Susan Boyajian) in "I'm With Stupid". In "Rule of Dumb", it is revealed that Herb is a brother of Gary's father, Sluggo, making Patrick and Gary first cousins.

Jack Kahuna Laguna (voiced by Johnny Depp) is a legendary human-like surfer who appeared in "SpongeBob SquarePants vs. The Big One". He teaches SpongeBob and his friends how to surf so they can go back home and fend off from a tidal wave known as "The Big One".

Jim (voiced by Patton Oswalt) is Krusty Krab's original fry cook, as revealed in "The Original Fry Cook", whose cooking is legendary throughout Bikini Bottom. Jim left the Krusty Krab after Mr. Krabs declined to provide him with a higher salary. Jim is shown to be a better cook than SpongeBob.

Lord Royal Highness (voiced by David Bowie) is the king of Atlantis in "Atlantis Squarepantis". He invites SpongeBob and his friends for a visit to Atlantis after they find the lost piece of the coin, but eventually regrets it since they (especially Patrick) end up popping the longest living bubble accidentally with a camera flash.

Mama Tentacles (voiced by Rodger Bumpass) is Squidward's elderly mother. In earlier episodes, she only appeared as hallucinations tormenting Squidward in "Fools in April" and "Ghost Host", although she later appeared in person in "Krusty Towers", where she is shown to live in a moai-shaped house like Squidward, but with a womanish curly hair-like structure on its head and earring-like balls hanging from its ears.

Master Udon (voiced by Pat Morita) is an old karate master who appeared in "Karate Island". He is actually a scammer who wants people to invest in his condominium project, disguising it as the "King of Karate" crowning that he presents to SpongeBob.

Monroe Timmy (Dee Bradley Baker/Sara Paxton) is one of the few children on the show. He is a small, orange fish who wears a pair of green shorts. His name was revealed in "Krabby Land". He has also been seen in "Mid-Life Crustacean", "Born Again Krabs", and "Giant Squidward".

The Moth (voiced by Mark Hamill) is a supervillain moth and an enemy of Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy who appeared in "Night Light". Even though he is minuscule, he has the strength to carry both SpongeBob's house and a lighthouse.

Nancy Suzy Fish (Sirena Irwin/Grey DeLisle/Carolyn Lawrence) is an often seen, but infrequently heard, yellow dress-wearing, white-haired fish with gray skin. Her name was originally revealed as Nancy in "Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy V", but in "Good Ol' Whatshisname" her name is Suzy Fish.

Nat Peterson (voiced by Dee Bradley Baker/Tom Kenny) is a male yellow fish that is a common background character on the show. His last name is revealed in "Missing Identity", and his first name was revealed in "Plankton's Regular" and "House Fancy", his biggest role to date. He is usually seen as a bus driver.

Nicholas Withers (voiced by Alton Brown) is the presenter of the popular lifestyle television show, House Fancy. He is pending on an award for Best Architecture during the episode that features Squilliam's house; he eventually gives it to Squidward due to the "creative" design of his ruined house.

PanSponge and SimiPatrick (voiced by Tom Kenny and Bill Fagerbakke) are SpongeBob and Patrick's prehistoric ancestors. They learn jellyfishing from Squidward, which ends up passing over to their current descendants.

Prince Triton (voiced by Sebastian Bach) is the teenage son of King Neptune who appeared in "The Clash of Triton". He initially wants to be a normal fish like everyone else, but his father convinces him otherwise.

Queen Amphitrite (voiced by Victoria Beckham/Lori Alan) is King Neptune's wife and Triton's mother who is worried by her son's attitude of not wanting to inherit the throne.

Scooter (Carlos Alazraqui/Clancy Brown/Dee Bradley Baker) is a fish who enjoys surfing. He died and became an angel in the second-season episode "Bubble Buddy", although he returned for future episodes. In the show's early episodes, Scooter spoke like a stereotypical southern Californian but soon he started speaking normal. He is most often seen at Goo Lagoon.

The Sea Bear (Dee Bradley Baker) is a creature that appears in the episode "The Camping Episode". During that episode, SpongeBob and Patrick try to convince Squidward that the sea bear exists.

Sea Monster (voiced by Gene Simmons) is a lizard-like sea monster who appeared in "20,000 Patties Under the Sea", having slept for 79 years, and demands SpongeBob and Patrick to sell him food in exchange for giant dollar bucks.

The Sea Rhinoceros (Dee Bradley Baker) is a creature that appears in the episode "The Camping Episode".

Sergeant Roderick (voiced by Robin Sachs) is a strict drill sergeant who temporarily replaces Mrs. Puff as driving instructor for her boating school in "Mrs. Puff, You're Fired".

SpongeGar, Patar, and Squog (voiced by Tom Kenny, Bill Fagerbakke, and Rodger Bumpass, respectively) are SpongeBob, Patrick, and Squidward's neolithic ancestors, respectively, who appeared in "Ugh". While still not being able to speak intelligibly, they are more advanced than the primitive ancestors in "SB-129", as they are shown to use stone tools and fire. Also appearing in the episode are Primitive Gary (voiced by Tom Kenny), Gary's gigantic ancestor and SpongeGar's pet, and Primitive Krabs (voiced by Clancy Brown), Mr. Krabs' tiny ancestor who repeatedly chants "money".

SpongeTron and Patron (voiced by Tom Kenny and Bill Fagerbakke, respectively) are SpongeBob and Patrick's robotic descendants who appear in "SB-129". SpongeTron has 486 clones, each one named after a letter of the English alphabet from 2,000 years in the future, while Patron has two heads.

Stanley SquarePants (voiced by Christopher Guest) is SpongeBob's cousin who appears solely in the season-five episode "Stanley S. SquarePants". SpongeBob receives Stanley in a package sent by one of his uncles, who is relieved to have sent Stanley, since he would destroy anything he touches. True to this, despite SpongeBob trying to teach him, Stanley constantly destroys everything and almost makes SpongeBob lose his job. To counteract this, Mr. Krabs sends Stanley to work with Plankton, destroying the Chum Bucket in the process.

Tattletale Strangler (voiced by Thomas F. Wilson) is a criminal fish who is detained for repeatedly strangling someone and promises to strangle SpongeBob when the latter has him arrested in "SpongeBob Meets the Strangler".

Tina Fran (voiced by Carolyn Lawrence/Sirena Irwin) is a pretty light red fish who wears a blue dress and skirt. She is one of Pearl Krabs' friends seen in "Squeaky Boots". Her name is revealed in "Hall Monitor", where she attended Mrs. Puff's Boating School.

Warden (voiced by R. Lee Ermey) is the head prison warden of the Inferno Island prison, appearing in "The Inmates of Summer". His demeanor is a stereotype of a drill sergeant: strict, demanding, and always speaking in a loud tone.

What Zit Tooya (voiced by Dee Bradley Baker) is a middle-aged fish who appeared in "Good Ol' Whatshisname". He is the last customer whose name SpongeBob and Squidward need so they could receive Mr. Krabs' promised tour guide. His name is a pun on "What's it to ya?", which causes confusion on Squidward's part.

The Yeti Crab is a crab in one of Mr. Krab's stories, but turns out to be real.

The characters of SpongeBob SquarePants have been well-received overall. The titular character SpongeBob has become very popular with children and adults. The character's popularity has spread from Nickelodeon's original demographic of two- to eleven-year-olds, to teenagers and adults,[12] including college campuses and celebrities such as Sigourney Weaver and Bruce Willis.[13] The popularity of SpongeBob translated well into sales figures. In 2002, SpongeBob SquarePants dolls sold at a rate of 75,000 per week, which was faster than Tickle Me Elmo dolls were selling at the time.[13] SpongeBob has gained popularity in Japan, specifically with Japanese women. Nickelodeon's parent company Viacom purposefully targeted marketing at women in the country as a method of building the SpongeBob SquarePants brand. Skeptics initially doubted that SpongeBob could be popular in Japan as the character's design is very different from already popular designs for Hello Kitty and Pikachu.[14] However, the characters have also attracted negative reception, including SpongeBob himself, who was listed as number four on AskMen's Top 10: Irritating '90s Cartoon Characters. Nevertheless, SpongeBob SquarePants was ranked ninth on TV Guide's top 50 cartoon characters.[15]

Arthur Brown, author of Everything I Need to Know, I Learned from Cartoons!, has compared Squidward's voice to that of Jack Benny's.[16]

The characters of SpongeBob SquarePants have been parodied various times in popular culture. In 2007, the Amsterdam-based company Boom Chicago created a SpongeBobparody called "SpongeBob SquarePants in China", in which a stereotypically Chinese Patrick refuses to go to work and advocates freedom of speech, rights of leisure, and income.[17] During the same year, production company Camp Chaos created a SpongeBob parody titled SpongeBong HempPants, which features five of the series' characters parodied in the form of various drugs. The show was seen on VH1 and Comedy Central.[18] The series has received mixed reviews from television critics; Adam Finley of TV Squad believed the series sounded "hilarious on paper", but ultimately did not demonstrate its full potential.[18] SpongeBob and Patrick were also referenced in Phineas and Ferb, when the characters of the Disney show dug a hole and found a sponge and a seastar. SpongeBob and Patrick also have an appearance in the Disney show Good Luck Charlie when Charlie's parents have a pink square and a yellow star puppet and are performing a potty training show on a fake television set. SpongeBob has made some appearances in TV shows such as The Simpsons, Family Guy, Robot Chicken, Mad, South Park, Futurama, and The Cleveland Show. Wooldoor Sockbat from Comedy Central's Drawn Together is a parody of SpongeBob, and he even has theme music similar to the background music from SpongeBob.